Optical domain controller of a telecommunications network

ABSTRACT

Implementations described and claimed herein provide systems and methods for an optical domain controller for managing and maintaining a record of network component configuration and interconnections. The optical domain controller detects changes in a configuration of optical network elements in response to a requested service from the network, coordinates additional changes in configurations to optical network elements that may be affected by the detected change, communicates with the optical network elements to incorporate the changes to the configurations of the network element, and stores the configurations and states of the network elements. The use of the optical domain controller may thus replace or supplement a database storing network configuration information by automatically managing changes to the network as new services are instantiated directly on the optical network elements.

TECHNICAL FIELD

Embodiments of the present disclosure generally relate to systems andmethods for implementing a telecommunications or data network, and morespecifically for an optical domain controller of the telecommunicationsor data network that detects changes in a configuration of an opticalnetwork element, coordinates additional changes in configurations to oneor more optical network elements, and communicates with the one or moreoptical network elements to incorporate the changes to theconfigurations.

BACKGROUND

Telecommunication networks provide, among other functions, connectionsbetween clients of the network and various possible remote servicesincluding compute, network, and storage often provided by a cloudservice provider. For example, the telecommunication network may provideone or more clients access to a cloud computing network where the clientcan obtain some cloud service. In another example, the telecommunicationnetwork may provide large capacity connections between client networks,such as a 100 gigabyte per second (Gbps) (or more) optical fiberconnection between different networks of the same client such as mightoccur when a company has geographically separated facilities. To providesuch optical connection services, telecommunication networks may includemultiple optical network devices or elements that are interconnectedbased on requests for connection services. For example, a backbonenetwork may connect to a first client network via a first opticalnetwork device (ND) in a first geographic location while a second clientnetwork may connect to the backbone network at a second optical ND in asecond geographical location. To interconnect the first and secondclient networks, optical NDs within the backbone network may beconfigured to create a transmission path between the first ND and thesecond ND, thereby generating a connection path between the two clientnetworks.

Many networks include off-line databases to store network configurationsfor managing the various interconnections and configurations of NDswithin the communication network. As NDs of the network are configuredto provide the connections, one or more databases of the network may beupdated with the new configuration such that the network operatingsystems may have access to a current network configuration. For example,network configuration systems may verify requests for providing a newservice with the information stored in the network configurationdatabases to determine the changes used to configure the NDs to providethe requested service. However, it is often the case that the networkconfiguration information stored in the network configuration databasesdoes not accurately reflect a current state or configuration of thenetwork. For example, many networks rely on technicians to manuallyupdate the network databases after new ND configurations are implementedin the network, which updates may not happen in a timely manner, if atall, due to various reasons. Other NDs may operate dynamically inresponse to network configuration changes such that the configuration ofsome NDs (such as port assignment, interconnections, or other logicalaspects of the NDs) may be changed automatically in response to networkconditions. Network databases may not receive these automaticconfiguration changes such that the databases do not include accuratenetwork configuration information. Inaccurate network configurationdatabases may result in conflicts when providing requested services,which may lead to loss of network traffic or other negative effects.

It is with these observations in mind, among others, that aspects of thepresent disclosure were conceived.

SUMMARY

One implementation of the present disclosure may take the form of asystem for managing a network. The system may include a controller,referred to herein as an optical domain controller, in communicationwith a plurality of optical devices of an optical network. The opticaldomain controller may receive, from a first optical device of theplurality of optical devices and in response to a request for an opticalconnection service, a notification of a configuration change to acomponent of the first optical device, obtain, from a networkinfrastructure database, an identification of a component of a secondoptical device associated with the configuration change to the firstoptical device, and transmit, to the second optical device, aconfiguration instruction to configure the component of the secondoptical device based on the notification of the configuration change tothe first optical device.

Another implementation of the present disclosure may take the form of amethod for managing a network. The method may include the operations ofreceiving, at an optical domain controller of an optical network, aconfiguration change notification from a first optical device of theoptical network, the configuration change notification based on arequest for an optical connection service of a first network to a secondnetwork via the optical network and accessing a network infrastructuredatabase storing configuration information of the optical network todetermine a network component associated with the configuration changeto the first optical device, the network component separate from thefirst optical device. The method may further include the operations ofgenerating a configuration instruction to configure the networkcomponent based on the configuration change notification from the firstoptical device and transmitting, to an activation controller associatedwith the network component, the configuration instruction.

Yet another implementation of the present disclosure may take the formof an optical domain controller of an optical network comprising acommunication port communicating with a database of configurations of anoptical network, a processor in communication with the communicationport to receive configurations of an optical network, and anon-transitory memory comprising instructions encoded thereon. Theinstructions, when executed by the processor, are operable to receiveconfiguration change notification from a first optical network device ofthe optical network, the configuration change notification based on arequest for an optical connection service of a first network to a secondnetwork via the optical network, determine, based on the receivedconfigurations of an optical network, a network component associatedwith the configuration change to the first optical network device, thenetwork component separate from the first optical network device, andtransmit, to a second optical network device associated with the networkcomponent, a configuration instruction to configure the networkcomponent based on the configuration change notification from the firstoptical network device.

While multiple embodiments are disclosed, still other embodiments of thepresent disclosure will become apparent to those skilled in the art fromthe following detailed description, which shows and describesillustrative embodiments of the disclosure. As will be realized, theinvention is capable of modifications in various aspects, all withoutdeparting from the spirit and scope of the present disclosure.Accordingly, the drawings and detailed description are to be regarded asillustrative in nature and not restrictive.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The foregoing and other objects, features, and advantages of the presentdisclosure set forth herein should be apparent from the followingdescription of particular embodiments of those inventive concepts, asillustrated in the accompanying drawings. The drawings depict onlytypical embodiments of the present disclosure and, therefore, are not tobe considered limiting in scope.

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram illustrating a network operatingenvironment for utilizing an optical domain controller to manage one ormore optical network elements in accordance with one embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram illustrating a second network operatingenvironment for utilizing an optical domain controller in a networkenvironment in accordance with one embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart of a method for maintaining and updating opticalnetwork element configurations utilizing an optical domain controller inaccordance with one embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram illustrating an optical domain controllersystem for managing optical network devices of a communications networkin accordance with one embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating an example of a computing system whichmay be used in implementing embodiments of the present disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Aspects of the present disclosure include systems, methods, networkingdevices, and the like, which may involve an optical domain controller,for managing and maintaining a record of network component configurationand interconnections. In one instance, the optical domain controller maydetect changes in a configuration of one or more network elements, inresponse to a requested service from the network, coordinate additionalchanges in configurations to one or more network elements or componentsof network devices that may be affected by the detected change,communicate with the one or more network devices to incorporate thechanges to the configurations of the network element or component, andstore the configurations and states of the network elements. The use ofthe optical domain controller may thus replace or supplement a databasestoring network configuration information by automatically managingchanges to the network as new services are instantiated directly on thenetwork devices. In one example, the optical domain controller maycommunicate with multiple network devices of the data network to receiveand maintain a network-wide interconnection and network elementinformation database of the current status of the data network whilebeing responsive to automatic or client-requested configuration changesto the operating status of the network.

In one instance, the optical domain controller may have a clientrelationship with one or more optical network elements (NEs) of thecommunication or data network. It should be noted that the term opticalnetwork element or network element as used herein is simply meant torefer to a network element or device that is involved in opticalcommunications. The one or more NEs may self-report requested changes tocomponents or configurations of the NEs, including but not limited tointerconnections with other components, changes in operational states ofports or interfaces of the NEs, activation or deactivation of componentsof the NEs, and the like. The changes in the configurations of the NEsmay occur in response to a request for providing a service to a clientof the data network, such as an interconnection of the client network toanother client network. In response to the self-reported change, theoptical domain controller may determine a communication path for thereporting NE and the components of the NE that may be affected oraltered by the configuration change. The optical domain controller maycommunicate with the identified components of the NE to determine astate or configuration of the components and, in some instances,generate and transmit one or more configuration instructions to theidentified components to adjust a configuration or state according tothe requested service.

In addition, the optical domain controller may also communicate and/orconfigure optical NEs executing differing operating systems (OS) orusing different communication formats. For example, a first optical NEof the network may use a first format for instructions and/or commandsto configure the components of the first NE while a second optical NE ofthe network may use a second format, different than the first format,for instructions and/or commands to configure the components of thefirst NE. To communicate with and/or configure the first optical NE andthe second optical NE, the optical domain controller may include anabstraction layer to translate common instructions or commands intospecific communication formats or languages associated with the NEs ofthe network. The abstraction layer may be used to translate reports orother information received from the client NEs and, if configurationinstructions or other communications are generated to alter theconfiguration of the client NEs, translate the instructions into thecommunication format of the intended optical NE. The abstraction layermay therefore include one or more translation tables that map networkingdevice-specific commands and instructions to a common language commonstructure for each optical NE of the network reporting to the opticaldomain controller. Routing logic or other operational methods of theoptical domain controller may be executed on the common structure forinstructions and commands and translated back into the device-specificcommands and instructions for transmission to the client optical NEs. Inthis manner, the optical domain controller may control and managevarying types of optical networking devices of the data network.

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram illustrating a network operatingenvironment 100 for utilizing an optical domain controller 130 to manageone or more optical network elements in accordance with one embodiment.The network operating environment 100 may include optical network 102 orbackbone network that connects a first peer network 104 and a secondpeer network 106. The optical network 102 may be provided by a wholesalenetwork service provider or other network provider. However, while theenvironment 100 of FIG. 1 shows a configuration using the opticalnetwork 102, it should be appreciated that portions of the network mayinclude non-optical components, including any Internet Protocol (IP)networking devices.

In general, peer network A 104 and peer network B 106 connect to theoptical network 102 via one or more optical fiber cables 105, 107configured to transmit a large capacity of network traffic. Peernetworks 104, 106 may include communication devices similar to those ofoptical network 102 for communicating with one or more customers to thepeer network 104, 106. In general, the peer networks 104, 106 mayinclude any type of communication or networking device that transmits orcarries telecommunications or data signals via a network. In someinstances, either peer network A 104 or peer network B 106 may requestan interconnection to the other peer network via optical network 102.Thus, optical network 102 may provide devices and transmission linesover which traffic may be transmitted to and received from peer networkA 104 and peer network B 106. The optical network 102 may includenumerous components such as, but not limited to gateways, routers, routereflectors, and registrars, which enable communication and/or providesservices across the optical network 102, but are not shown or describedin detail here because those skilled in the art will readily understandthese components.

In one particular example, the optical network 102 may includesub-network A 108 that includes optical component A1 112 and opticalcomponent A2 114. The sub-network A 108 may also be referred to asautonomous systems or autonomous devices of optical network 102.Component A1 112 may interconnect with component A2 114 for thetransmission of information, communications, and data between thecomponents 112, 114. Further, sub-network A 108 may connect to peernetwork A 104 to receive or transmit communications and information fromoptical network 102 to peer network A 104. For example, component A1 112may receive communications from peer network A 104 for transmission topeer network B 106 via optical network 102. In one particular example,sub-network A 108 may be an optical switch or optical cross-connectdevice for interconnecting optical signals received at the sub-networkcomponents 112, 114. Component A1 112 may, in some instances, transmitthe received communication to component A2 114 and vice versa. Thecombination of component A1 112 and component A2 114 may providesub-network A 108 with particular features, such as redundancy oftraffic paths through sub-network A 108, protection protocols onreceived communications, and the like. In some examples, component A1112 and component A2 114 may be embodied within a single networkingdevice, such as an optical switch of optical network 102. In otherexamples, component A1 112 and component A2 114 may be included inseparate network devices that are interconnected to create sub-network A108. Also, component A1 112 may include a database 116 for storing dataassociated with the component 112, such as configuration information andoperational state information of component A1 112. The database 116 mayalso store configuration and/or operational state information ofcomponent A2 114, as discussed in more detail below. Component A2 114may include a similar database 118 for storing configuration and/oroperational state information of component A2 114 and/or component A1112. Although only two components 112, 114 are illustrated in FIG. 1associated with sub-network A 108, it should be appreciated thatsub-network A 108 may include any number of components, programs, logic,circuits, interfaces, ports, etc.

The optical network 102 may also include sub-network B 110. Sub-networkB 110, similar to sub-network A 108, may include component B1 120 andcomponent B2 122, in addition to other components, programs, circuits,etc. not illustrated in FIG. 1. Component B1 120 may be in communicationwith component B2 122 of sub-network B 110 to provide transmissionfeatures to communications received at sub-network B 110, such as pathredundancy and protection protocols. Further, sub-network B 110 mayconnect to peer network B 106 to receive or transmit communications andinformation from optical network 102 to peer network B 106. For example,component B1 120 or component B2 122 may receive communications frompeer network B 106 and, in some instances, transmit the receivedcommunication to the other components of the sub-network 110. Also,sub-network B 110 may be connected to sub-network A 108 within opticalnetwork 102 via connection 109 such that communications may be sharedbetween sub-networks 108, 110. In this manner, communications receivedfrom either peer network 104, 106 may be transmitted to the other peernetwork via sub-network A 108 and sub-network B 110. Also similar to thecomponents 112, 114 of sub-network A 108, component B1 120 may includedatabase 124 and component B2 122 may include database 126. Thedatabases 124, 126 of sub-network B 110 may store configuration andoperational status information from each of the components of thesub-network B 110. Although two sub-networks of the optical network 102are illustrated, the optical network 102 may include hundreds orthousands of such sub-networks for transmitting optical signals via theoptical network 102. Two such sub-networks are illustrated in FIG. 1 forsimplicity and should not be considered limiting to the presentdisclosure.

In general, components within a sub-network may communicate or shareinformation via a communication protocol supported by the respectivesub-network. For example, component A1 112 and component A2 114 ofsub-network A 108 may share configuration information, communications,traffic data, operational states, and the like for storage in therespective databases 116, 118. The transmission of data between thecomponents 112, 114 of sub-network A 108 may be in the form of aparticular communication protocol supported by the components of thesub-network 108. Similarly, component B1 120 and component B2 122 ofsub-network B 110 may share configuration information, communications,traffic data, operational states, and the like for storage in therespective databases 124, 126. The transmission of data between thecomponents 120, 122 of sub-network B 110 may be in the form of adifferent communication protocol than that used by the components 112,114 of sub-network A 108. However, in some instances the information ordata of sub-network A 108 is in the form of a communication protocolthat is potentially not supported by the components sub-network B 110such that information may not be shared between the sub-networks 108,110. As such, sub-network A 108 may not receive configurationinformation or data concerning sub-network B 110, and vice versa.

To provide for inter-network configuration of sub-network A 108 andsub-network B 110, the optical network 102 may include an optical domaincontroller 130 in communication with sub-network A 108 and sub-network B110. The optical domain controller 130 may be a system of devices withinthe optical network 102 configured to receive and manage configurationinformation and/or operational state information from sub-networks 108,110 of the optical network 102. Additional features and operations ofthe optical domain controller 130 are described in more detail below.For example, the optical domain controller 130 may communicate withsub-network A 108 utilizing a communication protocol supported bysub-network A 108 and may communicate with sub-network B 110 utilizing adifferent communication protocol supported by sub-network B 110.Additional sub-networks of the optical network 102 may utilize othercommunication protocols, which may also be supported and utilized by theoptical domain controller 130. In general, the optical domain controller130 may store and use any communication protocols supported by clientsub-networks to the controller. The optical domain controller 130 mayalso receive and store configuration and operational state informationfrom the sub-networks 108, 110, configure or manage transmission pathsbetween sub-networks, configure and manage transmission paths withinsub-networks, and the like, as explained in more detail below.

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram illustrating a second network operatingenvironment 200 for utilizing an optical domain controller 212 in anoptical network 202 in accordance with one embodiment. Many componentsof the network environment 200 of FIG. 2 are similar to those discussedabove in relation to FIG. 1. For example, the network environment 200may include a first peer network 204 and a second peer network 206connected or otherwise in communication with optical network 102. Peernetwork A 204 and peer network B 206 may utilize optical network 202 toprovide an optical interconnection service between the peer networks204, 206. In particular, peer network A 204 may connect to sub-network A208 via a first optical fiber cable 205 and peer network B 206 mayconnect to sub-network B 210 via a second optical fiber cable 207. Theoptical network 202 may receive a service request to interconnect peernetwork A 204 and peer network B 206 and, utilizing sub-network A 208and sub-network B 210 of the optical network 202, may instantiate theservice. In some examples, sub-network A 208 may be located in a firstgeographic location and sub-network B 210 may be located in a separategeographic location. Additional network components or sub-networks maybe utilized to connect the sub-networks 208, 210, although suchcomponents are omitted in FIG. 2 for clarity.

The sub-networks 208, 210 of the optical network 202 of FIG. 2 providemore detail of the connection of the sub-networks to other components ornetworks. For example, sub-network A 208 is illustrated as an opticalswitch shelf including six slots within the shelf. Each slot includestwo ports or interfaces for connection to one or more optical fibers.Each interface of the optical switch shelf may be considered or referredto as a component of the optical switch and may be indexed with anidentification number or address corresponding to a shelf number, a slotnumber, and a port number. For example, sub-network A 208 may beassociated with a shelf index number of 1 and sub-network B 210 may beassociated with a shelf index number of 2. The component interfaces ofslot 1 of shelf 1 208 may therefore be indexed by a port address of1-1-1 corresponding to shelf 1, slot 1, and interface 1 and 1-1-2corresponding to shelf 1, slot 1, and interface 2. Similarly, thecomponent interfaces of slot 1 of shelf 2 210 may therefore be indexedby a port address of 2-1-1 corresponding to shelf 2, slot 1, andinterface 1 and 2-1-2 corresponding to shelf 2, slot 1, and interface 2.It should be appreciated that these are simplified examples of portaddressing or indexing utilized in an optical network and those ofordinary skill in the art will understand the various types and formatsof interface addresses utilized by optical networking equipment ordevices. However, this simplified addressing scheme is used herein forreference to the operation of the optical network 202 and the opticaldomain controller 212.

As illustrated, peer network A 204 may connect to sub-network A 208 viafiber cable 205 at port interface 1-1-1 for interconnection to othercomponents or sub-networks of the optical network 202. Similarly, peernetwork B 206 may connect to sub-network B 210 via fiber cable 207 atport interface 2-1-1 for interconnection to other components orsub-networks of the optical network 202. Further, a request from peernetwork A 204 may be received at the optical network 202 to connect topeer network B 206 via the optical network. In previous networkconfigurations, a network operator or controller may consult a networkconfiguration database to determine an available route path betweensub-network A 208 and sub-network B 210 to provide an interconnectionbetween peer network A 204 and peer network B 206. Once verified withthe network configuration database, a service activator may be used toconfigure connections, ports, or network devices to provide the servicein response to the received service request.

In the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 2, an optical domain controller212 may be utilized by the optical network 202 to instantiate therequested interconnection service in the optical network 202. Theoptical domain controller 212 may be a portion of the optical network202 or may be separate, but in communication with, the optical network202. As explained in more detail below, the optical domain controller212 may communicate with other network configuration and managementdevices or systems, such as a service activation controller 214 and/or apath computation device 216. Further, the optical domain controller 212may communicate with sub-network A 208 and/or sub-network B 210 toinstantiate the requested interconnection service. In some instances,such communications may be in multiple communication formats or schemessupported by the respective sub-network 208, 210. The optical domaincontroller 212 may also configure one or more existing services inresponse to a change to a provided service. The operations and systemsof the optical domain controller 212 are described below with referenceto FIGS. 3-5.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart of a method 300 for maintaining and updatingoptical network element configurations utilizing an optical domaincontroller 212 in accordance with one embodiment. The operations of themethod 300 may be performed or executed by the optical domain controller212 discussed herein. In some instances, the operations may be performedvia one or more hardware components of the optical domain controller212, one or more software programs of the optical domain controller, ora combination of both hardware and software components. Further, one ormore of the operations may be performed by other network elements of theoptical network 202 or associated with the optical network.

Beginning in operation 302, the domain controller 212 may receive arequest for a connection service provided by an optical network 202 oran update to an existing connection service. For example and using thenetwork environment 200 of FIG. 2, peer network A 204 may transmit arequest to the domain controller 212 to provide a connection, viaoptical network 202, to peer network B 206. In operation 304, theoptical domain controller 212 may determine or obtain a transmissionpath through optical network 202 in response to the requested connectionservice. For example, optical domain controller 212 may communicate witha path computation device 216 to determine the sub-networks 208, 210and/or other networking devices for connecting peer network A 204 topeer network B 206. The path computation device 216 may maintain orobtain network configuration information to determine the affectedsub-networks of the optical network 202 for providing the service, suchas sub-network A 208 and sub-network B 210. In one example, such networkconfiguration information may be obtained from the sub-networks 208, 210included in a path through a self-reporting procedure in which eachsub-network provides connection information, port and device stateinformation, operating system information, and the like eitherautomatically or in response to a request to the optical domaincontroller 212 and/or path computation device 216 such that a currentstate and configuration of the devices of the optical network 202 may beobtained and stored. In this manner, the optical domain controller 212and/or the path computation device 216 may determine the sub-networksand devices of the optical network 202 for providing the requestedconnection service.

Using the environment 200 of FIG. 2 as an example, the optical domaincontroller 212 may determine a connection of peer network A 204 tooptical network 202 at component interface 1-1-1 of sub-network A 208.Similarly, the optical domain controller 212 may determine a connectionof peer network B 206 to optical network 202 at component interface2-1-1 of sub-network B 210. Each sub-network 208, 210 or shelf mayinclude a backplane component or other internal connection mechanismsuch that signals received at an interface of the sub-network may betransmitted to or otherwise provided to other ports or interfaces of thesub-network. Further, the optical domain controller 212 may determinethat sub-network A 208 is connected to sub-network B 210 of the opticalnetwork 202 via connection 209 and connection 211. Connection 209 mayinclude a fiber cable component connecting interface 1-5-1 (shelf 1,slot 5, interface 1) of sub-network A 208 to component interface 2-5-1(shelf 2, slot 5, interface 1) of sub-network B 210. Connection 211 mayinclude a fiber cable component connecting component interface 1-6-1(shelf 1, slot 6, interface 1) of sub-network A 208 to interface 2-6-1(shelf 2, slot 6, interface 1) of sub-network B 210. With theinterconnection information, the path computation device 216 or opticaldomain controller 212 may determine a path through optical network 202that includes connection 205, connection 209, and connection 207. Analternate path through the network 202 may include connection 205,connection 211, and connection 207. It should be appreciated that thedetermine path may include many sub-networks, devices, connections, andthe like associated with optical network 202 and the paths discussedherein are simplified for ease of understanding. The optical domaincontroller 212 and/or path computation device 216 may select from themultiple available transmission paths one transmission path to providethe requested connection service to peer network A 204. Such a selectionof a preferred path from the multiple paths may be based on one or morebusiness rules or considerations. For example, the selection of atransmission path from multiple possible transmission paths between thesub-networks 208, 210 may be based on shortest transmission distance,lowest cost to the optical network 202, one or more service agreementswith the peer networks 204, 206, a quality of service for the requestedconnection, and the like.

Upon determination of the path between the sub-networks 208, 210, theoptical domain controller 212 may, in operation 306, generate andtransmit one or more configuration commands to the sub-networks 208, 210to create the transmission path between the sub-networks. For example,the path computation device 216 may determine that connection 209 of thenetwork environment 200 will be used to connect peer network A 204 topeer network B 206 via the optical network 202 and the sub-networks 208,210. To provide the connection, component interfaces 1-1-1 and 1-5-1 maybe configured with service parameters to provide a connection from peernetwork A 204 through sub-network A 208. The configurations to connectcomponent interface 1-1-1 to 1-5-1 of sub-network A 208 may be providedby the optical domain controller 212. In one implementation, the opticaldomain controller 212 may utilize a service activation controller 214 incommunication with the optical domain controller 212. The activationcontroller 214 may receive or obtain the selected path and configurationinformation of the affected sub-networks 208, 210 and generate the oneor more configuration instructions for configuring the sub-networks 208.As explained in more detail below, the one or more configurationinstructions may be generated in a common format that are translatedinto sub-network specific or supported communication formats fortransmission to and execution by the targeted sub-network.

The one or more configuration instructions to interconnect interfaceswithin the sub-network 208 may include many configurations of thecomponents or states of the sub-network 208. For example, theconfiguration instructions may cause sub-network A 208 to configurecomponent interface 1-1-1 with aspects of an optical connection service,such as a transmission rate, a sub-channel setting, a transmissionframing setting, a particular handoff scheme, and the like. In general,any configurable aspect of an optical component interface may beconfigured through the execution of the one or more configurationinstructions. In addition, the configuration instructions may beexecuted to connect interface 1-1-1 to 1-5-1 along a backplane or otherintra-device connection such that signals received at interface 1-1-1may be transmitted to interface 1-5-1 via the sub-network A 208, andvice versa. In some instances, the configuration instructions may alsoconfigure interface 1-5-1 with one or more aspects of the connectionservice, similar to interface 1-1-1. Other configurations of sub-networkA 208 may also be executed via the configuration instructions toaccommodate the connection service request received from peer network A204.

In a similar manner, one or more configuration instructions may begenerated and transmitted to sub-network B 210 to configure thecomponents or aspects of sub-network B 210 in response to the requestedconnection service. For example, component interface 2-5-1 and componentinterface 2-1-1 may be configured with connection parameters, such astransmission rate, sub-channel, framing, etc. Also, the configurationinstructions may be provided by the optical domain controller 212 in atransmission or operating system format supported by the operatingsystem of sub-network B 210. In general, any configurable aspect ofsub-network B 210 may be altered, set, or adjusted in response to one ormore configuration instructions transmitted to sub-network B 210 basedon the determined transmission path to connect peer network A 204 andpeer network B 206. Upon execution of the configuration instructions bysub-network A 208 and sub-network B 210, peer network A 204 maycommunicate with peer network B 206 over connection 205, connection 209,and connection 207 via optical network 202.

In operation 308, the optical domain controller 212 may receive a changenotification from sub-network A 208 and/or sub-network B 210 in responseto the change to the configuration of the respective sub-networks. Forexample, each sub-network 208, 210 of optical network 202 that is aclient of the optical domain controller 212 may include an applicationor operation to notify the optical domain controller 212 when a changein configuration of the sub-network has occurred. Such changenotification may be transmitted through any known or hereafter developednotification procedure, scheme, or language, such as telemetry language,netconf, Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP), Command LineInterface (CLI), syslog, and the like. In one instance, the changenotification transmitted by the sub-networks 208, 210 may be transmittedin an operating language supported by the respective sub-networks. Thechange notifications may include information about the changes to theconfiguration of the sending sub-network, such as a prior state ofcomponents of the sub-network, an ending state of the components,related components of the sub-network to the changed component or state,and the like. In other examples, however, the change notification mayinclude an ending configuration state of the sub-network.

In some instances, the optical domain controller 212 may not determine atransmission path and generate and transmit the configurationinstructions to the sub-networks 208, 210 of the optical network 202.Rather, the optical network 202 may instantiate a connection service inthe network based on a request received from a client of the network,such as peer network A 204. In other words, peer network A 204 mayinitiate the service connection on the optical network 202 withoutinvolvement of the optical domain controller 212. An example of a systemand method for providing an optical connection service to a clientnetwork of the optical network 202 is described in U.S. ProvisionalPatent Application 62/915,587, titled OPTICAL PEERING FABRIC IN ATELECOMMUNICATIONS NETWORK. In such instances, the optical domaincontroller 212 may operate similar to a master orchestrator byinitiating one or more configuration commands based on a requestreceived at the master orchestrator to connect participant sites,authenticating and/or authorizing the information and parties associatedwith the request, and providing configuration instructions or commandsto the network devices in response to a request for a connection servicereceived from a network connected to the optical network, such as peernetwork A 104. Regardless of the entity or device that instantiates theconnection service on the optical network 202, the optical domaincontroller 212 may receive the change notification from the affectedsub-networks 208, 210 associated with the implementation of theconnection service. In circumstances in which the connection service isexecuted on the optical network 202 without the optical domaincontroller, operations 302-306 may not be performed by the opticaldomain controller and the method 300 of FIG. 3 may begin with operation308 upon receiving the change notification from the altered sub-network208.

In operation 310, the optical domain controller 212 may determine anyservices, components, devices, interfaces, and related to the elementsincluded in the received change notification from the sub-network of theoptical network 202. For example, based on network configurationinformation obtained from previously executed configuration instructionsor from self-reporting applications executed by the sub-networks 208,210, the optical domain controller 212 may determine that componentinterface 1-5-1 of sub-network A 208 is connected to component interface2-5-1 of sub-network B 210. Intra-device relationships may also bedetermined by the optical domain controller 212. For example, thecontroller 212 may determine that interface 1-1-1 of sub-network A 208may be connected to interface 1-5-1 and interface 1-6-1 of thesub-network A 208. In general, any component, device, connection,interface, etc. of a sub-network or network device that is related to achanged component or configuration as indicated in the received changenotification may be determined by the optical domain controller 212. Thecontroller 212 may, in some instances, obtain relationship informationfrom a network configuration database populated by information receivedfrom devices of the network in response to a request for configurationinformation or transmitted automatically in response to changes to theconfiguration of the network devices. As discussed above, sub-networks208, 210 of the optical network 202 may not store configuration oroperational information of other sub-networks in the network 202.Therefore, optical domain controller 212 may, upon storing networkconfiguration information, generate inter-device relationships for usein determining elements affected by a configuration change. For example,the optical domain controller 212 may generate and store an indicationof connection 209 for interface 1-5-1 and interface 2-5-1 such that achange notification received associated with either interface may causethe controller 212 to determine a relationship with the other interfaceof the connection 209. In this manner, the optical domain controller 212may determine both inter-device and intra-device relationshipscorresponding to a change notification received from a sub-network 208,210 of the network 202.

In operation 312, the optical domain controller 212 may generate andtransmit one or more status or state requests to the identified relatedelements of the sub-networks 208, 210 associated with the changenotification. For example, the optical domain controller 212 may requestconfiguration information for interface 1-5-1 from sub-network A 208 inresponse to the change notification received from sub-network A. Therequested configuration information may include state information (suchas active, used, inactive, etc.), transmission parameters associatedwith the interface (such as transmission rate, framing scheme, etc.), orany other configurable attribute of the interface. The optical domaincontroller 212 may also generate and transmit a similar status or staterequest to sub-network B 210 for interface 2-5-1 in relation to a changenotification received from the sub-network B 210. Each sub-network 208,210 may be configured to obtain status or state information of acomponent identified in the status request and return the componentinformation. In this manner, the optical domain controller 212 mayobtain configuration information of each component of the sub-networks208, 210 altered or reconfigured in response to the connection servicerequest executed on the optical network 202.

In operation 314, the optical domain controller 212 may determine if therelated components of the affected sub-networks 208, 210 requireconfiguration based on the received change notification. For example,the change notification received from sub-network A 208 may indicatethat a transmission protocol of component interface 1-1-1 was changed,such as a change to the handoff procedure, transmission rate,sub-channel, framing scheme, etc. of the interface. Upon receiving thechange notification and determining the interface 1-1-1 is connected tointerface 1-5-1 via the sub-network A 208, the optical domain controller212 may request and receive a configuration or state status of interface5-5-1. The optical domain controller 212 may then compare theconfiguration of interface 1-1-1 to the configuration of 1-5-1 anddetermine if the configuration of interface 1-5-1 is to be altered tomatch the configuration of interface 1-1-1. Similarly, the opticaldomain controller 212 may determine that interface 1-5-1 is connected tointerface 2-5-1 of sub-network B 210. Upon the determination, theoptical domain controller 212 may request status or configurationinformation for interface 2-5-1 of sub-network B 210 and compare theinterface configuration to the configuration of interface 1-5-1 ofsub-network A 208. In this manner, the optical domain controller 212 maytraverse the transmission path associated with the change notificationto determine which elements along the transmission path may requireadditional configuration to ensure a proper provisioning of theconnection service to the peer networks 204, 206.

If the related components to the change notification require alteration,the optical domain controller 212 may generate and transmit one or moreconfiguration instructions or commands to the sub-networks associatedwith the noted components in operation 316. The configuration of thecomponents may occur in a similar manner as described above, in someinstances utilizing the activation controller 214 to generate theconfiguration instructions. The optical domain controller 212 mayconfigure any number of components of the transmission path based onreceiving a change notification from any sub-network 208, 210 of theoptical network 202.

Upon modifying the related components or if no components of thetransmission path is required to be modified, the optical domaincontroller 212 may receive and store configuration information and/oroperational status information from the sub-networks 208, 210 of thetransmission path in operation 318. The configuration and statusinformation may be utilized by the optical domain controller 212 ifadditional service requests and/or change notifications are received atthe optical domain controller. In this manner, the controller may detectchanges to services instantiated in the optical network 202, modify theconfiguration of additional components related to the changes to theservice, and maintain a current network configuration model, withoutrelying on technicians or other devices related to the network to updatethe network database upon alterations to the network configuration.

FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram illustrating an optical domain controllersystem 400 for managing optical network devices of a communicationsnetwork in accordance with one embodiment. In some instances, an opticaldomain application 410 may be executed on the optical domain controller400 to perform one or more of the operations described herein. Theoptical domain application 410 may be stored in a computer readablemedia 402 (e.g., memory) and executed on a processing system 404 of theoptical domain controller 400 or other type of computing system, such asthat described below. For example, the optical domain application 410may include instructions that may be executed in an operating systemenvironment, such as a Microsoft Windows™ operating system, a Linuxoperating system, or a UNIX operating system environment. The computerreadable medium 402 includes volatile media, nonvolatile media,removable media, non-removable media, and/or another available medium.By way of example and not limitation, non-transitory computer readablemedium 402 comprises computer storage media, such as non-transientstorage memory, volatile media, nonvolatile media, removable media,and/or non-removable media implemented in a method or technology forstorage of information, such as computer readable instructions, datastructures, program modules, or other data.

According to one embodiment, the optical domain controller 400 alsoprovides a user interface (e.g., a command line interface (CLI), agraphical user interface (GUI), etc.) 406 displayed on a display, suchas a computer monitor, for displaying data. Through the user interface406, a user of the optical domain controller 400 may provide user inputs424 through one or more input devices. The user input 424 may be used bythe optical domain controller 400 to, among other things, provide anoptical connection service request for optically connecting a peernetwork to the optical network of the optical domain controller. Theinput device for providing the customer input 424 may include, amongothers, a keyboard or a pointing device (e.g., a mouse, trackball, pen,or touch screen) to enter data into or interact with the user interface406.

In one example, the user interface 406 may communicate with othercomponents in the optical domain application 410 to receive user inputfor manipulating or otherwise modifying the operation of the opticaldomain application 410. For example, user interface communicator 412 maycommunicate with user interface 406 to receive customer input 424 foruse by the other components of the optical domain application 410. Theuser interface communicator 412 may also provide information to fordisplay via the user interface 406, such as results of the connectionservice request. The optical domain application 410 may also utilize adata source 408 of the computer readable media 402 for storage of dataand information associated with the optical domain controller 400. Forexample, the optical domain application 410 may store transmission pathgeneration rules or decision trees, operating system configurationinformation for one or more components of the optical network, and thelike. In general, any data or information utilized by the optical domainapplication 410 may be stored and/or retrieved via the data source 408.

The optical domain application 410 may include several components toperform one or more of the operations described herein. For example, anabstraction layer 414 may be included in the optical domain application410 to convert communications, instructions, commands, and the like froma communication format utilized by one or more of the client devices ofthe optical domain controller 400 into a common communication format.For example, sub-network A 208 of FIG. 2 may utilize a firstcommunication format based on the operating system of sub-network A 208and sub-network B 210 may utilize a second communication format based onthe operating system of sub-network B 210 that is different that thecommunication format of sub-network A. The abstraction layer 414 maymaintain a map or translation table that associates commands received inthe first and second format into a common format utilized by the opticaldomain application 410. This common format may be any format supportedby the operating system of the optical domain application 410. In someexamples, the abstraction layer 414 may translate particular commands,such as configuration commands, ignore connection commands, set portstatus commands, and the like between the common format and a particularcommunication format. In this manner, specific structures associatedwith sub-networks 208, 210 of the optical network 202 may be mapped orassociated with a common structure. As explained above, the operationsor instructions of the optical domain application 410 may be in thecommon structure for processing by the optical domain application 410.

The optical domain application 410 may also include a network inventory416. The network inventory 416 may include network configurationinformation received from devices, sub-networks, and systems of theoptical network 202. For example, sub-network A 208 may provideconfiguration information of the components of the sub-network,including interface configuration and inter-device connectioninformation. The network inventory 416 may also store intra-deviceconnection information, such as configuration information of connection209 and connection 211. The intra-device connection information may beobtained during instantiation of optical connection services in theoptical network 202. The network inventory 416 may be used by theoptical domain application 410 when determining affected devices of arequested transmission path and to respond to requests for suchconnection provided by a peer network or other associated entity of theoptical network 202.

A network communicator 418 may also be included with the optical domainapplication 410 to receive network element information 422 and transmitcommunications, instructions, and/or commands to elements within theoptical network 202. The network element or device information 422 maybe in a format supported by the target or sending network element.Further, the network communicator 418 may provide received networkinformation to the abstraction layer 414 for translation into a commonformat. The network communicator 418 may also receive communicationsfrom the abstraction layer 414 for transmission to a target networkelement. The optical domain application 410 may also include a callbackrule set 420 including rules for determining elements related to aninstantiated or requested optical connection service. For example, thecallback rule set 420 may include instructions or decisions trees thatmay be executed by the optical domain application 410 to trace elementsassociated with a change notification to determine which networkelements are affected by the change notification. The callback rule set420 may also include instructions or rules for comparing settings orconfigurations of elements to determine if adjustments to affectedelements are required based on the change notification. In general, theoperations executed by the optical domain application 410 in response toa change notification received from a device or sub-network of theoptical network 202 may be included in the callback rule set 420.

It should be appreciated that the components described herein areprovided only as examples and that the application 410 may havedifferent components, additional components, or fewer components thanthose described herein. For example, one or more components as describedin FIG. 4 may be combined into a single component. As another example,certain components described herein may be encoded on, and executed onother computing systems, such as on one remotely coupled to trafficcontroller 400.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a computing deviceor computer system 500 which may be used in implementing the embodimentsof the components of the network disclosed above. For example, thecomputing system 500 of FIG. 5 may be the optical domain controller 130discussed above. The computer system (system) includes one or moreprocessors 502-506. Processors 502-506 may include one or more internallevels of cache (not shown) and a bus controller or bus interface unitto direct interaction with the processor bus 512. Processor bus 512,also known as the host bus or the front side bus, may be used to couplethe processors 502-506 with the system interface 514. System interface514 may be connected to the processor bus 512 to interface othercomponents of the system 500 with the processor bus 512. For example,system interface 514 may include a memory controller 514 for interfacinga main memory 516 with the processor bus 512. The main memory 516typically includes one or more memory cards and a control circuit (notshown). System interface 514 may also include an input/output (I/O)interface 520 to interface one or more I/O bridges or I/O devices withthe processor bus 512. One or more I/O controllers and/or I/O devicesmay be connected with the I/O bus 526, such as I/O controller 528 andI/O device 530, as illustrated.

I/O device 530 may also include an input device (not shown), such as analphanumeric input device, including alphanumeric and other keys forcommunicating information and/or command selections to the processors502-506. Another type of user input device includes cursor control, suchas a mouse, a trackball, or cursor direction keys for communicatingdirection information and command selections to the processors 502-506and for controlling cursor movement on the display device.

System 500 may include a dynamic storage device, referred to as mainmemory 516, or a random access memory (RAM) or other computer-readabledevices coupled to the processor bus 512 for storing information andinstructions to be executed by the processors 502-506. Main memory 516also may be used for storing temporary variables or other intermediateinformation during execution of instructions by the processors 502-506.System 500 may include a read only memory (ROM) and/or other staticstorage device coupled to the processor bus 512 for storing staticinformation and instructions for the processors 502-506. The system setforth in FIG. 5 is but one possible example of a computer system thatmay employ or be configured in accordance with aspects of the presentdisclosure.

According to one embodiment, the above techniques may be performed bycomputer system 500 in response to processor 504 executing one or moresequences of one or more instructions contained in main memory 516.These instructions may be read into main memory 516 from anothermachine-readable medium, such as a storage device. Execution of thesequences of instructions contained in main memory 516 may causeprocessors 502-506 to perform the process steps described herein. Inalternative embodiments, circuitry may be used in place of or incombination with the software instructions. Thus, embodiments of thepresent disclosure may include both hardware and software components.

A machine readable medium includes any mechanism for storing ortransmitting information in a form (e.g., software, processingapplication) readable by a machine (e.g., a computer). Such media maytake the form of, but is not limited to, non-volatile media and volatilemedia and may include removable data storage media, non-removable datastorage media, and/or external storage devices made available via awired or wireless network architecture with such computer programproducts, including one or more database management products, web serverproducts, application server products, and/or other additional softwarecomponents. Examples of removable data storage media include CompactDisc Read-Only Memory (CD-ROM), Digital Versatile Disc Read-Only Memory(DVD-ROM), magneto-optical disks, flash drives, and the like. Examplesof non-removable data storage media include internal magnetic harddisks, SSDs, and the like. The one or more memory devices 506 mayinclude volatile memory (e.g., dynamic random access memory (DRAM),static random access memory (SRAM), etc.) and/or non-volatile memory(e.g., read-only memory (ROM), flash memory, etc.).

Computer program products containing mechanisms to effectuate thesystems and methods in accordance with the presently describedtechnology may reside in main memory 516, which may be referred to asmachine-readable media. It will be appreciated that machine-readablemedia may include any tangible non-transitory medium that is capable ofstoring or encoding instructions to perform any one or more of theoperations of the present disclosure for execution by a machine or thatis capable of storing or encoding data structures and/or modulesutilized by or associated with such instructions. Machine-readable mediamay include a single medium or multiple media (e.g., a centralized ordistributed database, and/or associated caches and servers) that storethe one or more executable instructions or data structures.

Embodiments of the present disclosure include various steps, which aredescribed in this specification. The steps may be performed by hardwarecomponents or may be embodied in machine-executable instructions, whichmay be used to cause a general-purpose or special-purpose processorprogrammed with the instructions to perform the steps. Alternatively,the steps may be performed by a combination of hardware, software and/orfirmware.

Various modifications and additions can be made to the exemplaryembodiments discussed without departing from the scope of the presentinvention. For example, while the embodiments described above refer toparticular features, the scope of this invention also includesembodiments having different combinations of features and embodimentsthat do not include all of the described features. Accordingly, thescope of the present invention is intended to embrace all suchalternatives, modifications, and variations together with allequivalents thereof.

We claim:
 1. A system for managing a network, the system comprising: anoptical domain controller in communication with a plurality of opticaldevices of an optical network, the optical domain controller: receiving,from a first optical device of the plurality of optical devices and inresponse to a request for an optical connection service, a notificationof a configuration change to a component of the first optical device;obtaining, from a network infrastructure database, an identification ofa component of a second optical device associated with the configurationchange to the first optical device; transmitting, to the second opticaldevice, a configuration instruction to configure the component of thesecond optical device based on the notification of the configurationchange to the first optical device; and transmitting, to the firstoptical device and the second optical device, service connectioninstructions configuring an intra-device connection between the firstoptical device and the second optical device in response to the requestfor the optical connection service.
 2. The system of claim 1 wherein thenotification of the configuration change comprises a first communicationformat corresponding to an operating system of the first optical device,the optical domain controller further: converting the notification ofthe configuration change to a common communication format different thanthe first communication format.
 3. The system of claim 2 wherein theconfiguration instruction comprises a second communication formatdifferent than the first communication format, the second communicationformat corresponding to an operating system of the second opticaldevice.
 4. The system of claim 1 further comprising: a path computationdevice in communication with the optical domain controller, the opticaldomain controller further: obtaining, from the path computation device,the service connection instructions configuring the intra-deviceconnection between the first optical device and the second opticaldevice.
 5. The system of claim 4 wherein the service connectioninstructions are based on a network business rule comprising a shortestconnection path, a lowest cost connection path, or a quality of servicethreshold associated with a connection path.
 6. The system of claim 1wherein the first optical device comprises an optical cross-connectdevice and the component of the first optical device comprises a portinterface of the first optical device.
 7. The system of claim 1 whereinthe notification of the configuration change to the first optical devicecomprises a notification of a change to at least one of a transmissionrate of an interface, a sub-channel of the interface, or a framingsetting of the interface.
 8. The system of claim 1 wherein theconfiguration instruction to configure the component of the secondoptical device comprises a command to configure the component of thesecond optical device to match the configuration change to the componentof the first optical device.
 9. A method for managing a network, themethod comprising: receiving, at an optical domain controller of anoptical network, a configuration change notification from a firstoptical device of the optical network, the configuration changenotification based on a request for an optical connection service of afirst network to a second network via the optical network; accessing anetwork infrastructure database storing configuration information of theoptical network to determine a network component associated with theconfiguration change to the first optical device, the network componentseparate from the first optical device; generating a configurationinstruction to configure the network component based on theconfiguration change notification from the first optical device;transmitting, to an activation controller associated with the networkcomponent, the configuration instruction; and transmitting, to the firstoptical network device and the second optical network device, serviceconnection instructions configuring an intra-device connection betweenthe first optical device and the second network device based on theindication of the first optical device and the second optical device.10. The method of claim 9 further comprising: receiving, at the opticaldomain controller and from a device associated with the first network,the request for the optical connection service of the first network tothe second network via the optical network.
 11. The method of claim 10further comprising: transmitting, to a network path computation device,a request for a network path via the optical network based on therequest for the optical connection service; and receiving, in responseto the request for the network path, an indication of the first opticalnetwork device and a second optical network device comprising thenetwork path.
 12. The method of claim 9 wherein the service connectioninstructions are based on a network business rule comprising a shortestconnection path, a lowest cost connection path, or a quality of servicethreshold associated with a connection path.
 13. The method of claim 9wherein the configuration change notification comprises a firstcommunication format corresponding to an operating system of the firstoptical device, the method further comprising: converting theconfiguration change notification to a common communication formatdifferent than the first communication format.
 14. The method of claim13 wherein the configuration instruction comprises the common format,the method further comprising: converting the configuration instructionto a second communication format different than the common format, thesecond communication format corresponding to an operating system of thesecond optical device.
 15. An optical domain controller of an opticalnetwork, the domain controller comprising: a communication portcommunicating with a database of configurations of an optical network; aprocessor in communication with the communication port to receiveconfigurations of an optical network; and a non-transitory memorycomprising instructions encoded thereon, the instructions, when executedby the processor, are operable to: receive configuration changenotification from a first optical network device of the optical network,the configuration change notification based on a request for an opticalconnection service of a first network to a second network via theoptical network; determine, based on the received configurations of anoptical network, a network component associated with the configurationchange to the first optical network device, the network componentseparate from the first optical network device; transmit, to a secondoptical network device associated with the network component, aconfiguration instruction to configure the network component based onthe configuration change notification from the first optical networkdevice; and transmit, to the first optical network device and the secondoptical network device, service connection instructions configuring anintra-device connection between the first optical network device and thesecond optical network device in response to the request for the opticalconnection service.
 16. The optical domain controller of claim 15wherein the instructions are further operable to: convert theconfiguration change notification from a first communication formatcorresponding to an operating system of the first optical network deviceto a common communication format different than the first communicationformat.
 17. The optical domain controller of claim 16 wherein theinstructions are further operable to: convert the configurationinstruction to a second communication format different than the commonformat, the second communication format corresponding to an operatingsystem of the second optical network device.
 18. The optical domaincontroller of claim 15 wherein the request for the optical connectionservice is received from a computing device associated with the firstnetwork, the first network connected to the first optical network deviceand wherein the instructions are further operable to: authenticate thecomputing device as associated with the first network; and generateservice connection instructions configuring an intra-device connectionbetween the first optical device and the second network device.